You ever have a Stephen King–enjoying friend casually wink at you and say, “Can you recommend something a little darker?”
Me either. I barely leave my house.
But if I did have such a friend, I’d help them carefully dip their toes into the murky waters beyond typical horror while trying very hard to remember how the old, non-desensitized version of me first responded to le foutu. What I would absolutely not do is introduce my fictional friend to a book like Motel Styx.
We’re along for the ride as Ellis ventures through a world post–passage of the Lazarus Act—legislation that essentially legalizes whatever with corpses. He’s on a mission to retrieve the body of his wife, who we learn has taken her own life and donated her body to the notorious Motel Styx (“Best beds, best bodies!”).
This is a quick, fun read with an interesting idea that really pulls you in right off the bat. While much of the book is your standard fucked-up gore, it also poses a lot of interesting scenarios. While readers will be immediately revolted by the idea of using the dead for any purpose, Michelle von Eschen and Jonathan Butcher do a great job of humanizing some of the patrons of Motel Styx and challenging readers with ethical dilemmas about who benefits in deals with the dead. For a story that throws viscera around like party streamers, it’s surprisingly “thinky.”
That’s not to say there weren’t also exactly the kind of people you’d imagine (and worse) at the motel as well. It’s a great choice if you’re ready to really test the limits of what you can stand in terms of sheer carnage. And hey, I appreciate a bucket full of organs as much as the next gal—but in this case, the focus on gore did detract from some of the more important story elements.
In my opinion, side characters often lacked sufficient motivation for their actions and all sort of hovered around our main character for most of the book. The “twist” was pretty easy to predict because the hints were not altogether subtle—though I will say I was very satisfied with the end.
Overall, this wasn’t my favorite splatterpunk read, but I enjoyed it a lot. I especially enjoyed David’s facial reactions to the parts I read out loud.
5/5 🫀🫀🫀🫀🫀 for gore
3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ for story
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